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You make sure your cat has clean water all day long. You’ve moved the bowl around to different spots in the house. You’ve changed the type of bowl at least five times. You’ve even tried getting those super fancy expensive brand of water bowl.

Then why, oh why does your cat insist on drinking from the bathtub?

What’s going on here?

Dogs are the ones known for drinking out of the toilet bowl, aren’t they? And yet many cat owners are dumbfounded to discover that their cats’ favorite watering hole is the runny kitchen sink, the running bathroom tub, or even the meager pool of water that gathers in the tub after a morning shower.

If your cat is one of these tub drinkers you might be concerned about this behavior. After all, there isn’t always someone around to turn on the tap, and drinking post-shower water can’t be too healthy for her!

There are a couple of reasons why your cat might be a tub drinker:

Reason 1: Cats prefer moving water

Even after years of being domesticated, cats have retained certain instincts from living in the wild. One of these is a preference for running water. Moving water - like the water from a faucet or in a running bath - usually means the water is fresh, as opposed to unmoving water which is stagnant.

You could leave the tap dripping for your cat, or set times when you run the faucet and let her drink from it. If you don’t want to run up a huge water bill you can also try getting a water fountain for your cat. These special bowls rotate the water in the bowl so that it’s always running and moving, giving the impression of flowing water.

Reason 2: Some bowls are too small for cats

Cats use their whiskers for judging the space of an area, and some bowls are just too small for them to comfortably fit their faces. Try using a wider bowl like a dog dish, or one with sides that taper out so that the sides of the bowl don’t get in your cat’s way of drinking.

Reason 3: Some cats instinctively don’t drink from water close to their food bowls

Once again, your cat’s wild side is taking over here. If a cat finds food (ie dead prey) next to a water source, instinct will tell him that the water might be contaminated. Sometimes the solution is as simple as moving the water bowl away from the food!

Reason 4: Water from bowls doesn’t look or smell appealing

Cats rely on their sense of smell as much as their sight, so if water isn’t moving around in the bowl they’ll smell it to check how fresh it is. One way you can get your cat to drink from the water bowl is by adding some tuna water or chicken broth to the water. This will make the water smell - and taste - more appetizing than the leaky faucet.

Even though cats get most of their water from their food, keeping your cat hydrated is important in preventing health problems. So try different shapes, sizes, materials, and locations for your cat’s water bowl until you find what works!